Title: The Obedient (II)/Deuteronomy 30:11-14
Obedient (II)/Deuteronomy 30:11-14
Luke 6:46 says, “Why do you call me Lord, Lord, and do not do what I say?” Obedience does not end with just calling on the name of the Lord. And we discover through Luke 6:46 that it is not just about hearing the word of the Lord. In James 3:3, it says, “We put a bridle in our mouth and move our whole body to make it obey.”
Because obedience is an absolute proposition that must be done, just like putting a bridle in the mouth of a horse, even if you bridle it, you must obey it. We must discover from the text how to obey and what the consequences of disobedience are.
1. How should we obey?
1) You must obey with all your heart and all your character. Verse 2 says, “If you obey the word of the Lord with all your heart and with all your soul,” verse 10 says, “If you return to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.” To do with all your heart and with all your character means your whole-person concern and love.
There are automatic cameras that can take dozens of photos in one minute. You need such a camera to take moment-to-moment snapshots. However, fine art photos are not made by shooting them that way. Meetings and lifestyles of modern people are like taking snapshots. Men and women meet and face each other without deep dating or meeting, and they make decisions without thinking, and then soon regret it. Marriage between a man and a woman is not just a meeting of body members. However, if you put aside your heart and love and look only at your face or body, if you consider only the conditions, the marriage cannot be a happy marriage.
Meeting with God is no exception. We must meet with our whole body and mind and obey. The Lord said, “Everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, does not enter the kingdom of heaven, but must do the will of my Father.” Anyone who believes in the existence of God has no choice but to obey God.
2) You must come back and obey.
Verse 8 says, “You will return and obey the word of the Lord again and do all the commands I have given you today. Verse 2 also says, “Return to the Lord”. To return means to repent. And the ultimate repentance is the return of those who have left God to God.
Consider the case of the second son who left his father in Luke 15. From the day he left his father, he squandered his time and wealth in vanity and debauchery. Then, when I ran out of money and my health deteriorated, I began to regret. And I started to miss my father's hometown and his arms. But his happiness began when he turned around and returned to his father's house. That is, when he repented and returned, he was able to regain the happiness he had lost. Repentance is returning to the God from which we have departed. And once you return, you must obey. When you return, you must not be any worse than before.
3) Don't think it's difficult.
Verse 11 says, “This command I am giving you today is not difficult for you, and it is not far off.” Verse 12 says, “It is not in heaven.” In Matthew 11:30, the Lord said, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light.” God has told us to do what we can. He is not a reckless God who commands the impossible or difficult to do. And he told us to do what we ought to do and not to do what we shouldn't.
Let me give you an example. “Do not get drunk, for this is debauchery,” he said. No matter which book you read, fall in love with the main color. Drunk and debauchery That way you will be happy. No place said that. The Bible also told us not to do it because it is bad. The teaching of the Bible is to command us to do what we can, must do, and do what is not difficult. Therefore, it is an excuse to be difficult or difficult, and it is only an evasion of responsibility.
God has given man two possibilities. If you think it's easy, you can do it easily, and if you think it's difficult, you give it the impossible. In other words, you have given me positive and negative possibilities. It is my own freedom to choose between the two possibilities.
Human brain function also has two possibilities. It has a function of remembering events 15 or 20 years ago, and also has a function of completely forgetting events a few hours ago. Recently, the pharmaceutical industry is said to be trying to develop a drug that erases the memories you want to forget as soon as possible with an eraser and keeps the memories you want to keep for a long time as if you were keeping them in a library. Already, Conex Pharmaceuticals, a California-based company in the United States, started an experiment and said that four years ago, they discovered a molecule that increases memory. Scientists say that in at least 10 years, new drugs that directly affect people's memory will be available.
However, there are approximately 1 trillion nerve cells in the human brain, and as many as 70 trillion synapses connecting them. . Humans can either succeed or fail depending on which side they develop the trillions of brain nerve cells created by God.
You can either obey or disobey God's Word. You can choose happiness or you can choose unhappiness. So, in verse 14, it says, “The word is very near to you, it is in your mouth, and it is in your heart, and you can do it.” Obedience to God's Word is neither difficult nor far away. Because it's so close, so close, in my heart, that I can act as soon as I decide to obey and make a decision.
2. When should I obey?
Verse 8 says, “I will do all the commands I have given you today.” Verse 11 says, “This is the command I have given you today.” In verse 15, it says, “Behold, I set before you today life and blessing and death and disaster. I put it.” “Today” refers to the present tense. In other words, right now, right now. When should I obey? the faster, the better. The more you delay, the worse it gets, and the more you delay, the worse it gets. Don't miss the opportunity to obey.
Among the various types of gastrointestinal diseases, one that is difficult to treat is called neurogenic gastrointestinal disease. In general, gastrointestinal medications are supposed to be taken 30 minutes after a meal, but according to Professor Son Jeong-il of Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, it is most effective to take it 30 minutes before a meal. Nervous dyspepsia is a disease in which symptoms of gastrointestinal disorders appear even though no abnormalities are observed in gastroscopy or basic examination. Among Korean adults, at least 5% and as much as 20% suffer from gastrointestinal disorders, and it is said that it is more effective to take the medicine 30 minutes before. The theory is that eating faster is better.
Obedience is the elixir of healing the soul. The sooner the drug is taken, the more effective the drug as well as the therapeutic effect. You must obey now. There is no need to ponder, ponder, and hesitate. Why should we procrastinate with good things ahead? Decide to obey right now, right here, right now. And let's begin a life of obedience.
3. What happens if I disobey?
Verses 17-18 should be noted. “But if you change your heart and do not listen, and you are tempted to bow down to other gods and serve them, I declare to you today, that you will surely perish, and your days will not be long in the land that you will pass over the Jordan to acquire.” I did. I sincerely hope this verse has nothing to do with you. The reason is that the consequences of disobedience and unbelief are so terrifying. It is because I am afraid of the saying that if you persist, turn away from God, and disobey God, you will surely perish.
Who is Israel? This is the nation God has chosen. These are the people God rescued from Egypt and kept and led for 40 years in the wilderness. They are the chosen people whom God poured out his devotion and love. But even if they disobey, they will be rejected. There are no exceptions before disobedience. When a nation disobeyed God, He rejected that nation, and when an individual disobeyed God, He rejected that individual. I can't help but be so scared and trembling. What if I am abandoned? “It will surely perish” ... But if you obey, it will become “it will surely increase”.
According to a recent research report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association by Dr. Brian Schwartz of the Johns Hopkins School of Health, the higher the educational level, the more patients with tension headaches. According to the results of a one-year survey of 13,000 men and women, almost half of graduate school graduates had tension headaches in Chinese characters. A tension headache is a symptom of pressure and pain on both sides of the head. Dr. Schwitz said that the causes of tension headaches cannot be explained in one word, but the more educated people are, the more complicated they are. Modern people have a high level of education and a high standard of living. However, that level should not act as a cause for scrutinizing and lowering obedience and faith toward God. Don't be a spiritual headache patient. It should not become a spiritual headache, a spiritual headache.
If we do not obey God, the consequences and repercussions are so great and frightening that we cannot fail to obey. But the essence of obedience is not because of the punishment or discipline to be received. Because we love God. That is why verse 20 says, “You shall love the LORD your God and obey his word.” It is not out of fear that I obey. I obey because I love God.
Why Obedience? Because God loved me and because I love God. How should I obey? We must obey with all our heart, will, and sincerity. What if I do not obey? You get dumped and your life comes to an end. Just as children must obey their parents, children of God must obey God. Because it is the heavenly wheel and the doctrine.
Let us be obedient.